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Game Info
Year
2019
Collection
Ratings
Creator Score
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Description
After millions of years of wasteland on Earth, animal life is finally emerging. But the world is still forming and undergoing a constant change. Only those species able to adapt to the ever-changing conditions will survive to leave their mark in history. Here is your chance! Do your best to become Darwin’s Choice.
Darwin's Choice is a competitive card game in which players create their own animal species from more than 230 animal cards. These animal species will be placed in biomes that differ strongly in their requirements and the food supply. The highest possible adaptation of animal species to their biomes not only ensures their survival but is also rewarded with the coveted Darwin points. In addition to a high adaptation the species with the highest competitive strength are also awarded across all zones.
Between the 3-4 eras played, conditions can change completely due to biome changes and event card effects. The task now is to adapt the successful animal species of the past eras to the conditions of the present, either through sophisticated mutations or smart migration to other biomes. However, you must always keep an eye on the animal species of the other players in order to anticipate their actions, because anyone who acts too quickly or imprudently might be unable to react at the decisive moment.
In Darwin's Choice the victory points (Darwin Points) are assigned to the animal species and may only be collected by players after the last era has ended. With this mechanism, the game remains exciting to the very end, because the extinction of a species also means the loss of its associated Darwin points.
Darwin's Choice is a strategic allocation game in which you must think carefully about how to use your cards. The large number of own possibilities and the ones of your opponents lead to a high variability, which makes thinking through each action and thinking ahead indispensable. The randomness caused by drawing cards (animal cards, biomes, event cards) requires flexibility and fast rescheduling. This results in each played game being completely different and guarantees a high replayability.
All pictures, icons and symbols of Darwin’s Choice are hand-illustrated by the French illustrator Rozenn Grosjean, giving the game its very own style.
—description from the publisher
Featured Videos
Review
Darwins Choice in 3 minutes
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video oB28ifFt1ug
Board Game Sanctuary Review at 0:43 sentiment: positive
video_pk 109916 · mention_pk 316241
Click to watch at 0:43 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Creative animal creation process by combining different animal body parts.
- Mechanics are inspired by Darwin's theory of natural selection.
- The biome mechanics directly influence player decisions and require adaptation.
- Biomes change from round to round, adding dynamic challenges.
- Players have a wide range of factors to consider when building and placing species.
- Evolving gameplay where victory points accumulate on species and are lost if they die.
- The theme and artwork are hilarious and well-executed.
- Adaptable rules make the game accessible to various age groups.
Cons
- Drawing the right combination of animal part cards can be a little random.
- There's a lot of bookkeeping with tokens (food, Darwin points, rank) which can be fiddly.
- The game can slow down at higher player counts (above 4).
Thematic elements
- evolution and adaptation of species
- planet Earth
Comparison games
- Steampunk Rally
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players compete to have the most adaptable species in different biomes to gain Darwin points.
- Card Drafting — Players draw animal part cards to build creatures.
- Ecosystem simulation — The game simulates natural selection, food chains, and species survival based on environmental pressures.
- Engine Building — Players build species with adaptive traits to survive changing environments and accumulate points.
- Hand Management — Players manage their hand of animal part cards to create effective species.
- Resource Management — Players manage food tokens to feed their species.
- Set Collection — Players collect animal body parts to fulfill specific requirements for biomes.
- Variable player powers — Each created creature has unique abilities and traits based on the combination of parts.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Playing a game of Darwin's choice is like letting a team of crazy zoologists loose in a Lego store except instead of Lego they're using animal body parts.
- The game is an evolutionary pressure cooker because if players don't adapt and evolve their creatures quick enough to the changing environmental conditions they will be dead meat.
- It's quite meaty and there's some really great deep strategic thinking that goes on here.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video IKQ68UkmkL0
Board Game Sanctuary Top List at 0:40 sentiment: positive
video_pk 109204 · mention_pk 314893
Click to watch at 0:40 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- creatures and biomes
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players house creatures in different biomes.
- Creature Creation — Players create different unique creatures.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- so quick story when I was watering my garden yesterday a stink bug sprayed acid into my eye I had to go to hospital for about 3 and 1/ half hours
- so today I thought I'd share with you my favorite bug themed board games
- my eyes are healing and it's doing fine now thanks for watching
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video GIpkRS23jXs
Getting Games Discussion at 16:18 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 91553 · mention_pk 245699
Click to watch at 16:18 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Origins is obviously a lot smaller than Gen Con
- I quite liked it
- overall I had a good time at origins
- it's a heavy game with a really neat card and worker placement mechanism
- I actually quite enjoyed this one
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TyOITi0uMAE
Getting Games Discussion at 11:20
video_pk 91294 · mention_pk 244819
Click to watch at 11:20 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I went 17 days without turning on my video camera
- the patreon support is also super important to keep all of this stuff going
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video CPMdGm1pPSQ
3 Minute Board Games Review at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 11523 · mention_pk 33898
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Engaging chaos and competitive tension that rewards adaptation
- Biomes changing across the game keep decisions fresh and reactive
- Creative Franken-Monster creature designs and flavor
- Optional trade board rules add trading depth and decision points
Cons
- Space-intensive with multiple animals on the board at higher player counts
- Can be easy to lose track of the game state and actions across eras
- Trading has limited incentive in base rules without the optional trade board
Thematic elements
- Survival, adaptation, and competition in changing environments
- Primordial earth with evolving life across four eras and shifting biomes
- procedural evolution with modular creature design and biome constraints
Comparison games
- Evo
- Dominant Species
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Biome-based resource allocation — Each biome provides limited food types; players must adapt to changing biomes per era.
- card management — Creatures are built from card components; players manage a hand of animal cards and assemble viable bodies.
- Era-based actions — Each surviving animal gets one action per era, driving strategic sequencing.
- Event cards between eras — Events introduce disruption or opportunity, reshaping strategy mid-game.
- Migration and movement — Creatures may migrate to different biomes as clashes and resources shift (e.g., later era migration).
- Mulligan — At era start, players can discard down to a single card and redraw to 10 cards for the era.
- Mutation and trait evolution — Darwin points can be spent to mutate creatures, altering diet and form across eras.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Darwins choice: all hail the winged arabian porcupine bison seal
- the best thing about this game is the Franken-Monsters you build
- it's a simple game about matching cards and making sets to fit the current biomes
- Darwins choice is a little bit different and will be the kind of game that appeals to people who love chaos and competition
- if you enjoyed this video like it subscribe to the channel and support us on patreon
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video btibEpPraFg
cardboardrhino Top List at 1:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4716 · mention_pk 13757
Click to watch at 1:36 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong evolutionary theme that is accessible and educational
- Punchy, compact play that remains strategically rich
- Visually appealing components and a clear sense of progression
Cons
- Subject to interpretation of biological accuracy vs. abstract play
- Potentially competitive tension can lead to blocking or sniping during key mutations
Thematic elements
- Biological adaptation, natural selection, and lineage survival
- Evolutionary competition across eras using animal life as the central motif
- Educational yet competitive, with a clear emphasis on understanding evolution through play
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Era Progression — Players guide their species through successive eras, balancing short-term gains with long-term viability.
- Hand Management — Players manipulate 220 hand-drawn animal cards to design and steer evolving species.
- mutation and adaptation — Mutations and adaptations shape species performance and survivability as time progresses.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Posthumous Saga is a new tactical survival adventure very rich in story
- The fortress is the last bastion of humanity by racing to complete your objectives
- Posthumous Saga is for wonderful players and promises a challenging as well as immersive experience
- Darwin's choice it's a game for 2 to 6 players with mechanics that require strategic thinking and give you a good understanding of evolution
- The objective for each player is to create animal species that are as optimally adapted as possible to endure through the changes of time
- using sophisticated mutations, players can improve already established animal species or save endangered species from extinction
- it's a game for 2 to 6 players with mechanics that require strategic thinking and give you a good understanding of evolution
- Imaginarium co-designed by one of my favorite game designers
- In Imaginarium you enter the factory which manufactures dreams
- you can repair, combine or dismantle two machines this way you've produced the resources needed to repair more powerful machines
- On Tour is a 20 minute route building rolling rights boardgame
- everyone is getting the same inputs but how you choose to deal with them will determine your success
- last but no way for those who love abstract car games and for those who love trees here comes the two-player version of Kodama
- three branch cards will be revealed for drafting
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–6 of 6